A recent study in JAMA reported that patients treated for type 2 diabetes are at risk for developing depression. The study also reported that patients with depression are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

The study confirmed what other studies have reported, and clinicians have seen in practice, that symptoms of depression place patients at an increased risk for developing diabetes. Depressive symptoms including being overweight, poor eating habits, smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle are all known risk factors for developing impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes. However, lifestyle factors only partly explain the association between depression and diabetes.

Another study published in Diabetes Care found an association between antidepressant medication use and the development of type 2 diabetes. This study concluded that individuals already at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes who took antidepressant medications did develop diabetes at an increased rate. However, individuals with depressive symptoms, but not treated with an antidepressant medication, did not experience an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. These findings built on yet another study that found that the concurrent use of two distinct antidepressant medications — a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) and a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) — had a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than patients who took only a TCA to treat their depression.

However, some antidepressant medications have common side effects that duplicate risk factors for type 2 diabetes. TCA’s, for example, are associated with weight gain and may increase blood glucose levels. (SSRI’s, on the other hand, are not associated with weight gain and may actually improve insulin sensitivity.) No study has been able to explain the mechanism by which antidepressant medications may influence the onset of type 2 diabetes. Some researchers suggest that antidepressant use may just be a marker for a history of recurrent or severe depression, which may have physiologic and biochemical effects on the body that leads to impaired glucose tolerance.

To confound the proverbial chicken-and-egg debate, the study published in JAMA demonstrated that patients treated for type 2 diabetes were at risk for developing depressive symptoms. These patients were also more likely to have high blood pressure and protein in their urine, suggestive of kidney damage. Interestingly, patients with pre-diabetes, or impaired fasting glucose, and patients with type 2 diabetes who were not being treated were less likely to experience depression.

Many studies have reported that patients with diabetes are nearly twice as likely to experience depression, compared to non-diabetics. The psychological stress associated with intense management of a chronic disease such as diabetes is thought to contribute to depressive symptoms. More research is needed to confirm these findings, but many clinicians suggest screening patients with diabetes for depression. Lifestyle modification, including diet, exercise, and stress management, is crucial in mitigating the morbidity and mortality associated with both diabetes and depression.

The use of antidepressant medications and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes are rising rapidly in the United States. Currently, at least 4 million people with pre-diabetes are taking antidepressants. Healthcare providers must be aware of the association and potential risk factors among diabetes, depression, and antidepressant medications and take appropriate measures to educate and inform patients of the risks, benefits, and screening tools related to treatment options. Patients should not change their current treatment regimens based on current findings, but should discuss any concerns with their healthcare provider.

Diabetes (type 2) and depression have bidirectional relationship and both are devastating disorders, however which comes first is not very important but their comorbidty expedites the onset of serious medical concerns including most importantly therapeutic and outcome implications, which are unfortunately coupled with additional risk of causing diabetes anew and poorer outcome when compared with either of the disorder. Evaluation of diabetes among depressed patients and vise versa is a good clinical pearl and as physicians we should not shirk this responsibilty.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. These thieves do not realize that Brain Blogger is sponsored by an international charity — GNIF. We’ve published scholarly articles on intellectual property and copyright. In other words, they are messing with the wrong people.

From this site alone, we have availed ourselves of our rights under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) with over 40 official notices filled. I urge others to do the same when they discover intellectual property theft. Thank you.

Many moons ago, my intermittent acute anxiety was treated with beta blockers, which caused hypoglycaemia and made things worse, because the anxiety was depression-based. Now I’m on prozac, which helps considerably, but I still find that depressive episodes feel remarkably like hypoglycaemia. I often feel better after I’ve eaten something, too: is to do with mood improvement as a result of sitting down to a meal and relaxing, or related to blood sugar? Then there’s the role of alcohol: prolonged periods of moderate alcohol intake (eg Christmas / New Year) can result in several days’ depression and sometimes huge, sudden, acute anxiety attacks.

These things are clearly all inter-related. The trick is going to be for some clever person to find out how.

PS: I came here via the BadScience blog which was reporting on the plagiarism by detox-in-a-box. Convoluted or what?

Jennifer Gibson, PharmD, is a practicing clinical pharmacist and medical writer/editor with experience in researching and preparing scientific publications, developing public relations materials, creating educational resources and presentations, and editing technical manuscripts. She is the owner of Excalibur Scientific, LLC.

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Founded in 2005 by Dr. Shaheen Lakhan, Brain Blogger is an official undertaking of the Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation (GNIF) — an international charity for the advancement of neurological and mental health patient welfare, education, and research. It is one of the most effective mediums for the GNIF to raise awareness of neuro-related topics.